Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1887-09-27
ABNORMAL APPETITE.


now Young Animals Acquire Taste for
All Sorts OF Unclean Things.
Unnatural methods of rearing young
animals pervert tho whole digestive
system to such an extent that many
never fully recover either the power of
digestion or the faculty of selecting
proper food, which is so generally be-
!ieved to b. an inborn instinct of the
brute creation. and makes them life.
long victims Of dyspeptic cravings
which they are never able to satisfy.
am convinced that the disgusting de.
sire for all sorts of unclean things
(old bones, old boot-tops which did
service in cleaning stables all winter,
and old floor-plank saturated with
manure till worn out and decayed, is
due to the cause above indicated. My
attention was directed TO this subject
years ago. and il has been one of
abiding interest to me. found many
cases where the feeding of bran or
bone meal apparently lead to cure,
and this was held to prove the general
correctness Of the popular theory that
1t was the result of lack of phosphates
In the foot. But such cases are al
most invariably affected favorably by
any change of food, and corn-meal
has been known to have the same effect
in other similar cases. / have never
found evidence in favor of the phos.
phate theory which is not stronger in
favor Of the theory of impaired diges-
ton.
The calf begins TO chew the cud al
most as soon as it is born; in great
many cases before it is three days old
The natural food OF the young calf is
its mothers milk. and it is able TO di-
gest that in tho mllk-stomach without
other preparation than comes with the
act of sucking. But all other food
needs the same preparation in the
mouth and other organs Of digestion in
the young calf that it does in the aged
COW. have never been able TO dis
cover evidence that cooking in any
way improves food for calves, and
when it is mado up in the popular
form of the day into porridge. cruel OF
other drinkable concoction. it is not
only unprepared. but it is untitled for
digestion. But tho largest part OF tho
calves of the country are raised on
this prepared food. Some of them
have hay or grass, which to some ex-
tent mitlgates the evil. Some are kept
in most filthy quarters with nothing TO
exercise their jaws upon but fence
boards and the edges of their sour
Swill-troughs. They such the ears OF
their mates and in that way keep up
partial flow of saliva, and sometimes
in their desperation they chew them
into masses of fostering sores. Per-
haps it would not be quite true to say
that all the bone-chewers and their
afflicted mates are Legitimate products
of some such system of rearing calves.
But we occasionally run upon man
who raises extra fine calves which are
never troubled with scours or any OF
the common ailments. No calf of his
ever gets any thing TO drink but plain
skim-milk and clear. clean water He
feeds dry hay liborally and dry grain
sparingly, but increases the grain ra-
tions as the animal develops. Begin
ming with bran. mlddlings or oats as
soon as the ca'f will take 1t he in
creases the quantity without material
change Of quality for his cow-calves.
But the steer-calves, whether intended
for early or later slaughter. get heavier
food Just as fast as they are able TO
bear it. The changes are always so
gradual as not to disturb the digestion
and every ounce he gains he holds.
He does not hesitate to feed linsecd
meal or cotton-seel meal rs he secs
occasion. but he always extends 1t
very largely with the coarsest bran in
the market In short he adapts all
his feeds in a manner to compel the
exercise of every organ of digestion
to the largest possible extent, but he
never puts upon one organ the office
Of another. His calves do not acquire
bad habits AMI none of them have ever
been known to chew bones or fence
boards. so S. Bliss, IN NJ y Tribune.